Troy Pointer, co-owner of T & T Heating and Air Conditioning, works on a heating unit on a newly built duplex near Willow School. Although the business hasn’t seen an astronomical number of phone calls for service, the winter weather has kept them busy (Cherise Kaechele)

This winter marked a first for Gravy Dave’s owner Debbie Ables. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a milestone to be celebrated.

The Union restaurant, which is typically open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., was forced to close down seven hours early Jan. 7 due to bad weather conditions. Then, on Jan. 18, Ables didn’t open at all.

“It’s the first time ever in 21 years (we’ve closed) because of weather,” Ables said. “(The employees) tried so hard to get here that morning (but) nobody could. So we just called it a day.”

Following the full-day closure, there was still enough snow that she couldn’t open the restaurant until 11 a.m. the next business day, after finally getting out of her driveway.

“There’s so much snow, and the wind has blown so hard,” she said last week. “There are 20-foot drifts (in some places), snow here up to the eaves on some houses. It’s been rough on business.”

The inclement weather impacted Gravy Dave’s in a number of ways. For one, her clientele can’t always get there when snow is blowing or ice covers the roads. Another challenge is the groceries delivered by trucks, which have been up to two days late.

Ables said she hasn’t run out of anything significant because she’s been ordering extra stock, in anticipation of road closures. Plus, her employees have been stuck at home several times.

“We have one lady in Cove, and because Cove does not have a snowplow, she missed several days,” Ables said. “We’ve had a couple employees who walked to work. I have great employees.”

Ables expressed gratitude for stores in town that have kept everybody supplied, including Hometown Hardware Store’s reliable stock of ice melt. She also credited the “awesome” farmers and ranchers who used their tractors and other equipment to dig out residents and clear roads.

“If (farmers) hadn’t done that, this town would’ve shut down,” Ables said.

Fred Bell, owner of Short Stop Xtreme Froyo and Espresso in La Grande, said business has definitely waned.

“Absolutely my business has been impacted,” Bell said. “People aren’t getting out. I really feel like after a certain period when it gets cold and snowy, people will get depressed and don’t move around.”

Bell said people are worrying about falling down, and despite working hard to make sure the parking lot is clear of ice, he can understand people not getting out.

“It’s been worse this year than in previous years,” he said. “I’ve taken my snow removal equipment out more this year than in the last 10 years combined.”

Although business has been slow, Bell said he hasn’t closed his doors due to the snow this winter.

Meanwhile, the winter conditions have kept other local businesses hopping.

At La Grande’s Action Plumbing, co-owner Wendy Kohl said this winter season has been unprecedented.

“Because of all the cold and the freezing pipes, we’ve had to go out and do a lot more repairs than we’ve done (in years past),” Kohl said. “Because of how long it’s been cold, we are having drain lines, and not just water lines, freezing up.”

Kohl said the winter has been “excruciating” as her staff tries to keep up. Action Plumbing services La Grande and Baker City, and they’ve had difficulties getting to Baker with all the road closures.

“We’ve had several days we couldn’t get out (of the area),” she said.

One thing Kohl urges people to do is think proactively.

“When the winter is cold like this, they need to check around their home and see if there are any vents open or cracks that will let the wind and cold through,” she said. “You need to seal that up (to prevent frozen pipes).”

One business that can’t afford to get stuck in the snow is Fenn’s Towing. The La Grande business has seen a sharp incline of business since the winter season began.

“It’s been a really bad season,” said Kinda Cable, an employee at the towing service.

Cable said for about six weeks this season, the employees have been working nearly nonstop, day and night. The business offers 24/7 service and tows vehicles of all sizes.

“We’re doing mostly semis,” Cable said. “There hasn’t been a lot of smaller cars. Mostly the semis are getting stuck, but there have been some in accidents.”

She noted that their calls have more than doubled compared to last year.

“It’s nonstop,” she said.

Busy Bee Carpet Upholstery & Air Duct Cleaning in La Grande is another business that doesn’t necessarily mind the adverse weather in the Grande Ronde Valley, according to manager Thumper Baum.

“We’re the only people who don’t complain about the weather,” Baum said.

While he said there hasn’t been a significant uptick in calls to clean air ducts or carpets than other winters, the most prevalent issue has been cleaning up water damage after pipes break in homes and businesses.

“This (year) has been exceptional,” Baum said.

He said his employees have mostly been able to get to and from work, but there have been times when road closures have impeded service calls. He said Busy Bee services both the La Grande and Baker City areas, so the company’s business is slowed when Interstate 84 is shut down.

Troy Pointer, co-owner of T & T Heating and Air Conditioning in La Grande, said maintenance has been especially needed on features like frozen intakes and furnaces.

“I’ve had a lot of furnace (calls),” he said. “They freeze up because of the extra moisture in the air.”

He said maintenance calls often require climbing onto roofs to clean out intakes, or occasionally having to take doors off of furnaces to heat up intakes when the snow impedes roof access.

Although Pointer said the business hasn’t seen an astronomical number of phone calls for service, the winter weather has kept them busy. Typically they receive 75 calls per day, he said, which is similar to other winters.

“Everything that could break (has broken),” he said. “It’s not my worst year, but I’ve had so many calls.”